A federal judge has temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s plan to get rid of government employees by offering them a payout.
The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for workers to apply for the deferred resignation program – which has been commonly described as a buyout.
US district judge George O’Toole Jr, in Boston, did not express an opinion on the legality of the programme but scheduled a hearing for Monday at 2pm local time (7pm in the UK).
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He also directed administration officials to extend the deadline for the programme until after the hearing.
The offer promises to pay employees their salaries until October – but it isn’t clear if that is guaranteed.
Current spending laws expire on 14 March and it isn’t clear whether salaries will be funded beyond this point.
Responding to the development, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Sky News’ US partner NBC News: “We are grateful to the judge for extending the deadline so more federal workers who refuse to show up to the office can take the administration up on this very generous, once-in-a-lifetime offer.”
She also said that more than 40,000 people had accepted the buyout so far – this figure corresponds to around 2% of the federal government’s 2.3 million civilian workforce.
NBC News reported this figure to be higher, at 60,000, citing a senior administration official.
Mr O’Toole could opt to delay the scheme further or block it on a more permanent basis when he considers the legal challenge from unions on Monday.
The scheme was orchestrated by billionaire Elon Musk who is one of Mr Trump’s top advisers.
Labour unions and opposing Democrats have said the offer is not trustworthy.
The buyout covers not just employees at domestic agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, but intelligence agencies like the CIA as well.
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